From today’s reading...
He then said, ‘You may go; eat what is rich, drink what is sweet and send a helping to the man who has nothing prepared. For today is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad: the joy of Yahweh is your stronghold.’” Nehemiah 8:10
Today, as is often the case, we see the Old Testament reading tied closely with the Gospel reading, which today is from Luke 1.
In Luke today, Jesus stands up to read and teach in “the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did” (Luke 1:16).
In Nehemiah, Ezra, the scribe “read(s) from the book from dawn till noon; all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:3).
It is from Nehemiah that we see that the Sabbath is a sacred day.
A day to celebrate.
It’s why Sundays don’t “count” during the 40 days of Lent, which means you may partake of the goodies you have given up on the Sabbath.
God wants you to celebrate His special day.
The day even He rested because life can be hard. Life can seem unfair.
Work can become all-consuming yet seem futile, which is why God wants us to come together, to learn, to remember, to reunite, and to refocus on what matters, which is His Word because that is the only way to...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
Now go sell something.